After the first six months or so, many outsourcing clients come to the realisation that they ended up with a different solution than they really intended. And they are not sure where to go next, because they now have to live with their 'cost-cutting' arrangement for three, five or even ten years. According to recent industry surveys, at least 50 per cent of all outsourcing engagements fail within the first year.

So what kind of outsourcing solution facilitates short-term and long-term requirements, while still providing the flexibility to make changes in response to business pressures? Experience has shown that there are no easy answers. To start with, the obvious things are already being done.

For example, most companies perform extensive diligence when considering a long-term outsourcing relationship. A lot of very smart people in business and IT spend a great deal of time and energy analysing the costs and benefits.

And most legal departments know very well how to structure contracts that balance risk appropriately. But in all of this, something is being missed—something new and different. Increasingly, Fujitsu Consulting is seeing more outsourcing engagements in which clients desire a 'value-based' outsourcing approach. Unlike traditional outsourcing contracts where the focus is on IT infrastructure, standardisation and cost effectiveness, valuebased outsourcing is characterised by a willingness to undertake outsourcing as a shared business destiny.

This destiny may include strategic business alignment, revenue and cost sharing, cross-functional and cross-organisational teams and shared risk/reward. Instead of an 'us vs them' mentality, value-based outsourcers bring a 'we-are-us' attitude to the table.

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